Heavily manipulated images with an exaggerated sense of reality form the signature style of Chinese fashion photographer Chen Man.
Since shooting her first cover for Chinese avant-garde style magazine, Vision, Man’s work has gained increasing recognition. Having worked with brands such as Adidas and Nike, she’s most recently collaborated with MAC cosmetics. The Chen Man range, subtitled Love & Water, is described as a ‘bold, sensual and lyrical colour collection’, based around her fascination for love and water, represented by pink and blue.
The ascendancy of Man’s star coincides with China’s own as a burgeoning economic powerhouse. In forging her own path, Man’s bold, innovative style has been credited with inspiring a visual revolution in China.
For her first UK solo exhibition, Man‘s photography collates modern Chinese city landscapes with ancient architecture, which provide a backdrop to explore the assorted themes of science fiction, consumerism and popular culture.
Despite the complex and myriad layers of post-production employed to control and manipulate the finished product, the natural beauty and poise of her models forces its way through her art. Otherworldly and eccentric Man’s imagery reflects an obsession with perfection and the impossibility of many beauty aesthetics.
The Chen Man exhibition is showing at the Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester until 7th April
Words by Dawn Daniels
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